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We toured a fig tree orchard & the owner said they keep them from growing too tall, so they can be picked without ladders. But you might need an arborist to do it correctly. so I like nuts idea of a dwarf tree.
Depends on the tree. The power company does it without killing them, though they don't do it for aesthetic reasons. Its not unusual for a new "leader" to be chosen on a tree after a storm.
Keeping a tall tree smaller is an art and its work. It also means more open wounds to heal and risk infesting with critters and disease before they heal. As mentioned above, dwarf trees and semi-dwarf trees might be a better option.
I'm not familiar with orange trees, but I have seen them kept in greenhouses rather small, but those folks who have greenhouses are usually very skilled.
I sort of look at it this way: gardening is fun, you win some, you loose some, but I will admit that it is possible to get attached to a tree. (I have an indoor bonsai that is over 30 years old; I would not like something to happen to it now.)
People top trees all the time, but the trees grow those fast growing vertical branches to compensate that look terrible and do not grow normal branches. Eventually they end up with a tragic looking mess of a tree.
Why not just buy a dwarf tree to start with, given the height requirement..
Because none of the nurseries I have been to sell them. Even the nursery that ONLY sells citrus. Most of my neighbors buy unsuitable trees for the space then they have to remove and replace evey 5-7 years. I didn't want to do that. . . (It doesn't literally have to be 4 feet tall but max maybe 8 which would be short for a tree).
Last edited by ihatetodust; 09-20-2020 at 11:46 AM..
Of all things, I have two camphor trees that randomly sprouted in my front yard and I have been trimming them for many years now to maintain a round shape to them. They're only about 10' high or so and they actually look pretty nice. I also have a lemon tree that I do this to. I've let it run its own course over several years and it wasn't until I began trimming it that I started getting good quality lemons out of it.
I trim the top of my trees just fine, never an issue. I have a variety of tropical type fruit trees. Never heard an issue from it, the professional growers keep their trees trimmed at certain sizes for optimal fruiting and harvesting.
I was at the nursery expressing my desire for a SMALL tree and the owner said well you can keep it 4 feet high if you want just trim it.
I was like ???? I always heard that adjusting the height of a tree would kill it.
(It was an orange tree if it matters).
I do not actually want a tree at all due to lack of space but HOA requires.
Yes, you can keep many types of trees trimmed back so they stay small and sculpted without dying, but for some kinds of trees it's an art form that requires a lot of skill and patience and good knowledge about sculpting trees.
If you have to get a tree because the HOA requires it, and if an orange tree strikes your fancy, you could get yourself a nice little calamondin tree. They are super easy for a novice to keep pruned back and nicely shaped and they don't grow into huge trees anyways even if they're never pruned. https://www.google.ca/search?q=matur...w=1346&bih=678
There are other kinds of dwarf trees that you could consider too, if you don't want to fuss with keeping a tree pruned back. If nurseries around you don't have them on the premises you could ask to have what you want specially ordered in for you. Any good nursery worth it's salt and good reputation that wants to keep repeat customers will go to the effort of having what you want shipped in for you.
Thanks, all. I didn't get a real good impression of the nurseries I have visited so far. They are naturally more interested in the big ticket 2k trees than the smaller ones I was interested. The one I used to go to who had people that actually seemed to like plants went bankrupt.
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Even the nursery that ONLY sells citrus. Most of my neighbors buy unsuitable trees for the space then they have to remove and replace evey 5-7 years. I didn't want to do that. . . (It doesn't literally have to be 4 feet tall but max maybe 8 which would be short for a tree).
